The Last Grain of Sand
by Icarus Blue
Summary: Everyone has more time than they think they do. His story is told again and again. At Hogwarts the cracks finally start to show. Who knows what will happen?
1. Chapter 1

In a nearly forgotten tower, two fading old men met to discuss the end of a world, the sad fate of a young boy, and a magic necklace. And though the one man floated above the other, a god between realms, an advisor to destiny and enemy of doom, he was by far the weaker of the two.

The age of this master of time was nearly finished. Another would soon take his place, spawning in another world, yet unmade, far beyond the reach of even his sight. He knew this, and he asked once more:

"Why Danny Phantom? You can ask for anyone, but in this moment you always ask for him. I play it forward and back, this moment. Forward and back. You ask and I answer. Again and again, over and over. I never leave this moment. And yet the world moves on. The people are always changing, always spending their time _differently_. There is always something new to coax time forward. I remain in the same moment, and yet it never stays the same. But in this moment you always return here and you ask for Danny Phantom. Why is that?"

Dumbledore chuckled. He said:

"If it is any consolation, for myself, this is the first time I have ever experienced meeting you. I certainly did not intend to bother you so intensely! I sincerely meant to cause you as little bother as would be possible, taking into account that I invited myself into your home, which unfortunately does require some amount of bothering."

Clockwork laughed. Beneath his deep purple cloak a child's face crinkled into that of a wizened old man with a beard long enough to match that of his guest.

"You have not answered my question. Why do you wish for Danny Phantom to help you? It has been so many years since you first met him – you were only a boy. Is there not another you would have me summon? The cosmos is full of heroes. A new world is made every moment, brimming with potential. Just this once, will you ask for someone else?"

Dumbledore shook his head.

Around them, the gears that turned in that legendary tower suddenly groaned to a halt, and time stopped with them. And yet, in the Ghost Zone that lay beyond the tower, and in the living world beyond that, not a single being noticed.

Clockwork grimaced. It was all slipping from his grasp.

"I am afraid that Danny Phantom's time is nearly up."

"You are right," said Dumbledore, softly, "I was only a boy when I met Danny. At the time, I needed him, and I was glad for his company. When he left I said goodbye reluctantly, though I knew perfectly well that he could not stay. But in all my years – and you might know that those years are many – I never did stop thinking of him. I do not think that is a power one should take lightly."

Slowly, the gears of time strained to resume their rotation. The old ghost gasped as the clocks once more began to chime.

"But it is just a matter of time," Clockwork argued. "He cannot last forever. He cannot match the feats of Homer or Virgil. He cannot beat Time itself."

"No," Dumbledore agreed, "he cannot. But he does have a certain charm, doesn't he?"

"Very well. I will end this moment. I do not think I could bare to go through it again. If you wish to have Danny Phantom, you shall. He is not being very interesting right now, anyway."


	2. Chapter 2

The world was flooding. Metaphorically, of course. But the danger was real. The water was rising and soon this world would be forgotten beneath the murky green water.

Not even the Ghost Zone, the infinite realm of the dead, would be spared the all-consuming water. It, too, would disappear. Because even the Ghost Zone felt the influence of time. And that's what the water is. Time.

Time is a part of the natural order. It is meant to flow in one direction, and provide order and meaning to the universe. And though time may be stalled – or even reversed – by those who guard it and best understand its ways, the direction of time must always be preserved. It is not ever meant to run into itself, to pool, to _flood_.

Yet that is what happened. And it was Danny Phantom's fault. Although, he would never know it.

Long ago, from the outer reaches of space and time, there came an apocalyptic rock. It came from a place that was not present or past, but from a place that was always looming, always _approaching. _The rock was called the Disasteroid, and it could not be stopped. This rock was the hateful, unavoidable end. It was final period, with all the power that that contained.

It was the end of the story.

And yet, it wasn't. Impossibly, the Disateroid was beaten. The world was saved. Danny Phantom had stopped it, with the help of his friends. They knew that they could not destroy it, so they let it come. They let their story run its course, all the way to the end. But they were clever. They turned the earth intangible and they let the end pass _through _them.

They thought this meant their story would go on forever.

Unfortunately, they were right.

Their story continued, but it did not move forward. Although the Disastoroid passed through the earth, it was more than a physical end, and when it hit the river of time it _blocked _it. The river's water could not move forward, so it flowed _back, _upon itself. It pooled and it swirled. At first this did not seem so horrible. While some parts of the story corroded, others flourished and filled with life. In this chaotic pool of time, the story was continuously remade.

But the chaos would not last. Soon the water would settle. The water would grow polluted, leaving the life within to die. And when it was complete, the universe would be undone and forgotten. It was already happening. They couldn't tell, in Amity Park, but the water was up to their neck.

Clockwork sat at the bottom of this pool, and he drowned with the rest of them. However, unlike the rest of them, Clockwork saw the end coming. At first he accepted it, but now he saw another way. Perhaps the story could continue.

At least, for one of them.

"Sorry, can we run through this one more time?" asked Danny, while rubbing his neck nervously. He thought Clockwork was a pretty nice guy, but he was just so incredibly powerful that Danny couldn't help feeling uneasy around him.

"Of course." Clockwork nodded. "We have all the time we need. But no more than that, I'm afraid."

Danny ignored that comment, keeping to his vow to let Clockwork be as cryptic as he liked. They would be stuck there forever if Danny questioned every single strange thing the master of time said, and though Clockwork probably wouldn't mind, Danny wanted to get back home soon. He and Tucker planned to speed-run Doomed tonight.

"Okay," Danny said, "so Hogwarts is a magic school in Scotland. But it's not _my _version of Scotland, it's one in _another_ universe. And you were visited from Professor Dumbring –"

"Professor _Dumbledore._"

"Right, _Professor Dumbledore, _who runs this school for magic, and who for some reason wants _me _to go there and help with – what exactly does he want me to do?"

"He wishes for you to mentor one of his students. To watch over her, and her friends. Her name is Hermione Granger, and she will be receiving a _time-turner _so that she may attend all of her classes. This time-turner will allow her to travel a few hours back in time each day. He would like you to monitor her use of it, and perhaps offer her some guidance. I believe there are other reasons why Dumbledore asked for you, specifically, but that is his business, and does not concern us at the moment."

"This is all so weird," groaned Danny. "Who names their kid Hermione? And why does she need to time-travel to go to class? What kind of a messed up universe is this?"

Clockwork grinned and raised his staff.

"I am sure you will enjoy finding out. I hope it will be a nice vacation from the troubles of this universe."

"Hey!" Danny jumped back, anticipating an unexpected portal and a hard shove to push him through it. None appeared, but Danny kept his guard up. "I didn't say I was going. You haven't explained much of anything. Now, what's up with all the crazy stuff you were saying earlier? Something about a Disasteroid – which is a dumb name, by the way – and something about the river of time flooding?"

"Yes, that is the more serious matter."

* * *

Clockwork paused. His hand slowly covered the crown of his staff, and as he did the many clocks within the tower slowed to a gentle stop. Danny stared at Clockwork, unblinking.

Clockwork winced. It shamed him that even a minor display of his power now required intense concentration. But such was the damage done to their timeline. Its very essence was fading.

As he considered how to best answer his young friend, Clockwork wondered the tower and examined the many paused clocks. He had tried to explain the problem of the flooded universe when Danny first arrived, but it had been hopeless. Without sharing Clockwork's unique position in the timeline, Danny would never be able to comprehend the nature of what was happening. He was too firmly caught in the current of the story.

And yet. . . Clockwork returned to his place by the young hero. He studied him. Even frozen, his toxic green eyes flashed with power.

In the flow of time, Danny would forever be an oddity. Most were stunned by his very being, as a half-human half-ghost hybrid. He existed on the border between worlds, as much alive as he was dead. A confusing concept to most, but that was not was interested Clockwork.

No, what interested Clockwork was Danny's shifting role within the time-stream. In the current timeline Danny managed to prevent the Disasteroid from ending his story, yet this was not the first time he had done so. There was the original timeline, in which Danny had become corrupted by loss. In that timeline Danny's dark self also defeated the Disasteroid, but did so by sending it to another world. He subverted his end by damning another.

Without Danny, the story would have concluded as it was meant to in both timelines. But somehow he always manages to alter his end. And while his effort in this time caused the time-stream to become corrupted, his victory in the dark timeline likely would have been sustainable. If it weren't so monstrous a timeline Clockwork would have let it be.

There is free-will in the universe. Clockwork had guaranteed it, and always protected it from the interference of the Observants. Everyone has the power to make choices, the power to affect the course of the time-stream.

But why does Danny have so much of that power? No one else was so crucial to the end of the story. No one else would be capable of changing the end, not merely once, but twice. Clockwork had assumed that Danny was only a part of the story, like them all, but perhaps he was something more. Perhaps he was the key to –

Suddenly, time jerked forward a single second, and Clockwork cried out, as though struck by lightning. He collapsed, but Danny did not rush to help him. Time was still frozen.

Gasping in a futile struggle for air that he did not need, Clockwork slowly pushed himself from the ground. He was weak – his hold on time was slipping. He could delay no longer.

* * *

"Are you going to explain what's so serious, or do I have to guess?" Danny asked. His snarky grin dropped as he took in Clockwork's appearance. He had been floating – smiling even, in that mysterious all-knowing way of his – but then he was suddenly fallen, crouched on the ground, broken, and leaning on his staff.

"What the hell!" Danny leapt into action, soaring down to help his friend. "Are you okay? What just happened?"

Clockwork grunted and shook him off.

"I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Will you tell me what's going on?" Danny demanded. "I thought this was just about helping some old wizard! You look like you're _dying._ That's a pretty freaky look on a ghost! Especially on you!"

The old master of time closed his eyes. With a bitter smile he said:

"I do wish I could give you more of a choice. But you'll have to trust me. I think, this way, there's a chance that everything will work out. I hope it does, at least."

Then, before Danny could react, Clockwork's swung his ancient staff like a golf club and swiped Danny's legs out from under him. Danny fell back, and as he did a ghost portal opened up to catch him.

With startled scream, Danny slipped through the cracks of the universe.

And he did so just in time. Because the instant Danny's foot passed through, the portal closed, and Danny's universe ceased to exist.


End file.
